Umoja Switch takes a lead role(Press Release

With our correspondent

Customers will from March 1 be able to withdraw cash from more than 2000 ATMs across Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.

Dar es salaam, Tanzanians banking with commercial banks that subscribe to Umoja Switch, will now be able to withdraw cash on Automated Teller Machines (ATM) across Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, it was revealed.

This has been possible after the integration of the switches across the four countries in order to facilitate card-payments across East Africa, the Umoja Switch Chief Executive Officer (CEO) said.

Mr. Danford Mbilinyi enlightened editors that the five payments switches; Umoja Switch of Tanzania, Kenya’s KenSwitch and Pay net, Inter-Switch of Uganda and Rwanda’s R-Switch have integrated to create a single platform.

The integration will become operational on March 1, 2015. It will enhance the expansion in economic activities because it seeks to lower transactions costs to customers and the country at large.

“With a shared payment network within the region, the customer will no longer need to have several cards when undertaking service payment.” He said the enlargement of the financial services could also lead to the expansion of other sectors because if financial sector is strong, its impact in term of economies of scale will have something to do with the other sectors.

Umoja Switch Chief Executive Officer Mr. Danford Mbilinyi delivers a press regarding the lead role taken by Umoja Switch earlier this year by joining five switches in the East African region which forms integration in the payment system across Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. 

According to him, the integration will also promote the security among customers within the region adding that the member states will be even more comfortable in running their businesses.